Vernal Coleman

Reporter

ProPublica

Vernal Coleman is a reporter for ProPublica’s Midwest newsroom. He came to ProPublica from The Boston Globe, where he had been a member of the newsroom’s strike investigations team, specializing in data analysis for quick turnaround investigations. Before joining the Globe, Coleman was a watchdog reporter with The Seattle Times’ Project Homeless initiative, where he wrote stories about the intersection of housing, mental health and local efforts to combat homelessness. Prior to joining The Seattle Times, in 2014, he covered policing and public safety in Newark, New Jersey, for The Star-Ledger and NJ.com.

Coleman began his career as a fellow with Northwestern University’s Academy of Alternative Journalism, where he produced multiple news articles for various Chicago-based publications, including the Chicago Reader.

Participating Sessions

ATTICA REVISITED

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the largest prison rebellion in U.S. history. On Sept. 9, 1971, over 1,200 inmates at the Attica correctional facility in Attica, NY, seized the yard at the maximum-security prison, took more than three dozen guards and civilian employees hostage, and demanded more humane treatment and better conditions. Emmy-winning director Stanley Nelson and producer and co-director Traci A. Curry bring one of the most...